Emmi Swiss Premium Yogurt

A “Culture” With A Cult Following

CAPSULE REPORT: Emmi‘s all-natural line of yogurts gets quite a buzz in foodie chat rooms and bulletin boards. We like it, but it’s a mass-produced Swiss yogurt—or it was when we first reviewed it. Now it’s mass-produced in the USA, and is far better than most mass-produced American yogurts. The Swiss style is very creamy and more pudding-like than many American brands. So, taste Emmi; experience its subtle, delicate, flavor profile; revel in its creaminess; see what the buzz is about. You may become a convert.

Emmi Yogurt Overview

Emmi is not an artisanal yogurt: Its parent company, Emmi International Ltd. of Lucerne, is the largest cheese company in Switzerland and merged with American cheese manufacturer Roth Käse in 2009 to become an even larger presence.

Like being the biggest tea company in China, that says something. If you listen to the buzz in foodie chat rooms, Emmi is the putative queen of the commercial yogurts, beloved by legions for whom the most exciting food happening of the year is the arrival of Emmi in their city.

What makes Emmi, which retails at almost twice the price of some other perfectly fine yogurts, their darling?

Emmi is made for European tastes, and Europeans tend to have more cultured (no pun intended—well, maybe) palates. They prefer finesse to excess.

Most commercial yogurts include pectin or gelatin as a thickener—not Emmi. While Greek-style yogurts are triple-strained to have thickness without thickeners, some American-style yogurts are so thick you can stand a spoon up in them (and some even advertise this as an attribute). What people love about Emmi is the light and supple texture. You could almost pour it on top of fruit salad, cereal or pound cake. Perhaps there’s magic in the top-grade Alpine milk from which the yogurt is made in Switzerland (and that now translates to milk from American cows).

The fruit flavorings are subtle—not overly-sweet like some commercial brands that target sugar-addicted Americans. Underplayed and subtle, the flavors have improved in the US market. When we first reviewed the line in 2005, some artificial flavors were used. Now, they’re all natural.

Emmi also includes live and active bacteria cultures and is made from rBST-free milk.

Subtle Flavors

The delicate flavoring and silky texture define the uniqueness of this yogurt. Some people will prefer graceful Emmi, some will seek more punch and sugar typical of American yogurts.

In addition to plain yogurt, the flavors we tasted include Apricot (the most delicate); Blueberry and Strawberry (delicate); Pink Grapefruit (medium-delicate); Black Cherry, Müesli and Raspberry (standard full flavor). While we appreciate the finesse, our palate leans more to more expressive flavors; thus we found Black Cherry and Raspberry the most interesting. Pink Grapefruit has real pieces of fruit (5% grapefruit, per the label). We’d never encountered a grapefruit yogurt before and we like grapefruit; so we enjoyed it, will buy it again, and only wish for a tad more grapefruit oomph. The fruit, grain and nut mix-ins give lively flavor to Birchermüesli; but as in all yogurts, the grains get rubbery from their long swim. Plain is particularly noteworthy—a distinctive plain yogurt with fresh-from-the-dairy flavor that has a barely discernable hint of tang.

There’s no reason to remain neutral like Switzerland on the topic of Emmi. Try it for yourself. It may be just the style you’re looking for—if not for everyday, then for variety. Or at least to have your first taste of grapefruit yogurt.

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